Improvement in printing-presses



ZS'h'eets--S'heeth C. WADDIE. Printing-Presses.

Patenuad March v10, 1874.

w, l @fm/M .l 7. 0. w y N UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES IVADDIE, OF EDINBURGH, NORTH BRITAIN, ASSIGNOR TO VICTOR E. MAUGER, OFNEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT `IN PRINTING-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 148,530, dated March 10, 1874; application filed i September 2, 1873.

vTo all whom z'tmay concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WADDIE, of Edinburgh, in the county of Edinburgh,North Britain, have invented an Improved LithographicPress, of which the following is a specification This invention has reference to new andimproved constructions andarrangements of many of the important parts and automatic mechanism of a self-acting lithographie printing-press, which is also suitable for type-printing. Presses constructed with these improvements, being more self-acting, and therefore requiring much less vskilled labor, are more economical for many classes of work than such presses have been heretofore.

Figure l in the drawing is aside view of my improved lithographie press. Fig. 2 is a top vview of the same; Fig. 3, a longitudinal central section; and Fig. 4, a detail longitudinal central section of the damping-roller.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A represents the frame of the machine, formed of' two strong side standards secured together by cross-bars and stays. A vertical lever, B, is pivoted to the center of one of these cross-bars, which is situated near the bottom part of the machine, the lever having its upper end jointed by a slot or pin connection to the under side of the carriage or travcling frame G, which carries the lithographie stone D therein set. This stone is fixed, with the printing-face uppermost, in the front part of the carriage O, which also carries the inking-table E, with the distributing-surface upward, and placed immediately behind the stone D. Vibrating motion is imparted to the lever B by means of a connecting-rod, F, `attached with one end to the lever B near its middle or lower part, and having the other end connected to the crank of a crank-shaft, G. Instead of the crank, an eccentric, or equivalent means, may also be used to give motion to the carriage O. The crank-shaft G, from which the automatic movements of themachine are taken in proper sequential time, and which revolves in strong bush-bearings of the side frames A A, may be driven direct, or by an intervening shaft, H', at slow speed, by suitable motive power, or from a driving-shaft, H, which I prefer to work in small presses by means of a treadle, J, with the'feet, the treadle being hung in the lower part of the frame A. The arms J of the treadle are connected by two rods, J f J to two treadle-cranks, J J, formed on each end of the shaft H. vIn larger presses, where the motion applied is greater, I connect the shaft H to the second shaft, H', by means of gear-wheels, which reduce the velocity so obtained, to make it about the same as would be obtained by working the machine by a treadle. For the purpose of giving the necessary dampness to the stone D in lithographie printing, a hollow transverse damping-roller, K, is placed above and between two solid distributing-rollers, k 7c. The clamping'- rollerK, which is more fully shown in Fig. 4, is pierced with numerous holes through the body, and preferably covered with one or more layers of' damping-blanket. The interior of this hollow roller K is filled with water from time to time, by having one end to screw off, thus forming a hollow transverse -damping-roller, which imparts its moisture to the two rollers 7c kf, which pass across and roll over the surface of the stone D at its return from the pressing or printing roller L. These rollers k k may also be covered with one or more layersof damping-blanket. The transverse rollers K la k all run with their spindles in vertical slots of the frame A. Under eachend of each of the damping-rollers k k is a loose raising and lowering tumbling link or collar, N, which is slotted and hung to a projecting pin, a, of the frame A, directly beneath the spindle of the said damping-rollers k 7c. The links N are rounded at their lower ends, and so hung as to be in the way of two rails, O, that are formed below them on each side of the carriage C. In front of these pendent links N are formed, on the frame A, fixed stops N', which prevent the links from swinging forward, but allow them to vibrate backward. On the forward movement of the carriage C, the links N are prevented from thus tilting by the stops fixed on the frame A, and therefore are forced to rise over the rounded endsv of the rail o of the carriage (l, and serve thus to lift the damping-rollers 7c leather, Src.

k someA distance clear of the surface of the stone D. During the backward movement of the carriage the rollers 7c 7c remain on the stone. The stone is inked in by means of the inkingrollers Z Z, placed behind the damping-rollers, having the carriage, with the stone to be printed from and inking-table ranged on it, traversing or sliding under them. The shafts of these rollers preferably have a bar, Z1, with a spring, Z2, and pinching-screw Z3 at each side, to give each roller the required pressure to ink the stone properly, which is thus regulated to the greatest nicety by screwing up or slaekening back the pinching-screws Z3. Behind the inking-rollers are placed distributers or angled rollers j jj, for spreading the ink ou the distributing plate E, on which a littleis placed from time to time 5 or the ink may be fed into the machine in the manner usually employed in printingpresses-that is, by a small vessel placed at the back of the last distributing-roller j. The transverse ink-rollers Z andyl work with their spindles in verticalslotted guide-bearings in frame A. The printing is accomplished by means of a metal roller, L, placed in front of the damping-roller K, and preferably covered with a soft material, such as india rubber, The shaft of the roller L runs in gun-metal bushes, or oth er equivalents, sliding vertically in strong slotted guides or guidebrackets L1, secured to the frame A. The shaft of the rollers L is hung in the upper ends of two vertical rods, P P, which terminate at their lower end, just below the crank-shaft Gr, into hollow cam-boxes or bearing-surfaces P2. The crank-shaft Gr has on each of its sides peculiarshaped cams gru affixed to it, which will at each revolution bring down the rods P, and thereby the roller L, on the front edge of the stone D as it is brought forward by the action of the crank G, and on top of the paper previously placed below the roller, so as to press and retain it there while the stone is thus moved forward, as shown in Fig. 1, while they will lift the rods P and roller L when the carriage C assumes a reverse motion, to allow the operator to take the work out from beneath the roller L, as shown in Fig. 3. The moving of the rod P may be facilitated and regulated by upon which the carriage runs in passing be- .low the printing-roller L, so that the pressure 1s taken off the slides or rails, and sustained between these two rollers, L L2, which will then work very smoothly. Side and front gages R R', which arevpreferably made with movable fixing slides, are placed in front of the roller L upon a feeding-table, S, while behind the roller L an inclined guard, T, is fixed, against which the sheets of paper to be printed rest.

The operation is as follows: The ,SQDQQi after having been damped and inked on its backward traverse, and r 1' nlre d f t s egnniLti1ne on its way forward, then clears the dampingrollers by lifting them all, as described, enters between the rollers L L2, causing the roller L, which is now in its lowermost position, to rcvolve over it, so as thus to press the sheet of paper, which has been previously placed 011 the inclined guard T, with its edge beneath the roller L, down `on the printing-surface of the stone or type, and print and carry it during the continued forward motion of the stone upon the table S, and into the hands of the person who had previously placed the blank paper upon the guard T. For type printing, the damping-rollers 7c 7c' must be removed, and a locked case of type set instead ofthe stone D.

In order to prevent backward movement of and stops N N', the carriage C containing the projection O for actuating the links NN, substantially as specified.

CHARLES WVADDIE. Vitnesses:

WILLIAM D. ANGUS, JOHN WADDIE. 

